In recent years, photographing by photographers in photographic studios has expanded beyond commemorative photographs to include photographs for resumés, for showbusiness portfolios and for passport applications. For a resumé or a showbusiness portfolio, in order to provide a good first impression of the person who is the object to be photographed, it is required that the person's hair and posture be prepared and then the photograph taken by the photographer to present an attractive appearance of the person who is the photography object. For a passport application, because the photograph is an identity photograph that will be used for a long time, it is required that the person's hair and posture be prepared and then the photograph taken, within the dimensions allowed by the regulations, in a way that the person who is the photography object will not later regret.
These photographs are taken in a photographic studio because, in addition to a studio established photographer having the skill to present an attractive impression of the photography object person and take pictures without getting the timings wrong, lighting devices for photographing are installed that are capable of providing lighting in accordance with the objectives of the photography, for a lively and glamorous appearance of the photography object person or for a relaxed feeling or the like.
In general, in a lighting device for photographing, a light source is constituted by plural lamps and, by these lamps being intelligently arranged, may smoothly illuminate a photography object with soft light that is thoroughly diffused. It is known, for example, that the softness of light depends on distribution characteristics of light beams illuminating the photography object in directions of incidence on the photography object (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2005-114928 paragraph 0035 and FIG. 3).
Specifically, light amounts of the plural lamps are adjusted and illuminated so as not to produce deep shadows in parts of the face of the photography object, particularly under the nose and under the jaw, but also so as not to look flat. For example, shadows are strong with a single main light. Therefore, a front light is used as a supplementary light, a top light is added to emphasize the hair line (reflecting off the hair), and an accent light is included. Thus, highlights are produced from the side of the hair to the shoulder, standing out from the back. In addition, a backlight and plural small accent lights or the like may be used. For a preferable facial photograph, illumination that forms a catch light that vividly portrays the pupils of the eyes is important. However, for example, with a person wearing spectacles, a light source being reflected in the spectacles is not appropriate for the objectives of any purpose, whether a resumé, a showbusiness portfolio or an ID photograph. Therefore, careful lighting is required.
However, with an illumination device based on indirect dispersed light distributions from numerous light sources, adjustment of the illumination light amounts of light sources as described above and of distribution characteristics of the light beams is troublesome, and the efficiency of photographing is lowered. If a photography object is photographed with the balance of light sources having been upset, unnatural shadows are produced on the photography object. Accordingly, a photography box is known that reflects illumination light, which is emitted from a light emitter with a single surface, from a reflector that is formed such that reflected light amounts from a central portion are smaller than reflected light amounts from periphery portions, and illuminates and photographs an object to be photographed (for example, see JP-A No. 2004-325797 claim 1, FIG. 1 and FIG. 4).
However, with the photography device recited in JP-A No. 2004-325797, although the production of deep shadows may be prevented, in order to make the illumination light incident on the photography object uniform, light that is reflected by a completely flat reflection plate is illuminated at the photography object. Thus, emphasis of the hair line and formation of a catch light are insufficient to enhance the expression of the person who is the photography object, which is not satisfactory for artistic photographing.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a lighting device for photographing with a very simple structure that makes it possible to take an artistic picture of a human who is an object to be photographed, enhancing his or her facial expressions without the need for troublesome light source adjustment.